Monday, December 8, 2008

Brain Worms

If you have the stomach to see the news story that inspired this posting, you can see it here. If you eat pork, or eat in restaurants that serve pork, it'll freak you out. To my vegan friends... enjoy the schadenfreund.

When I was growing up (or before I was born, depending on how young you're willing to believe I am) there was a TV doctor show that created the "Marcus Welby effect." Marcus Welby was the Dr. House of his day, and after each week's episode, doctor offices would be flooded with people convinced they had the exotic ailment of the week. So to prevent a "Deadpan Inc. effect," let me assure you that you do not have a brain worm unless you occasionally experience tingling in an extremity, mild to severe headaches, or the inability to remember all the state capitals.

A brain worm could also be seen as a metaphor for a damaging concept that works its way into your brain -- like the idea of a populist Republican. The best populist Republican I've ever seen was fictional: Bob Roberts. In the 1992 movie of that title, Tim Robbins played a corrupt folksinging Senate candidate. His songs were priceless, but Robbins didn't allowed a soundtrack album to be released because he never wanted the songs to be experienced out of context. So as you watch the clip below, out of respect to Tim, please enjoy it ironically.

Hey Googlers! If you came here by searching "brain worms," I'm sorry if it failed to provide the vital medical information you need. But if you got a chuckle here, be sure to check out a few other episodes -- many of which are even funnier than this one, if you can believe that. I recommend fan faves Avian Genital Tongues, Sugar Cookies and Smiley Face Cops. You can find a link to any episode in the Archive section to the right. Enjoy.